Instrument-supporting tripod with seat



May 2, 1961 w. A. ERNST INSTRUMENTSUPPORTING TRIPOD WITH SEAT Original Filed March 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. W Aer/I 2 EBA/5r BY AM,

May 2, 1961 w. A. ERNST INSTRUMENT-SUPPORTING TRIPOD WITH SEAT Original Filed March 26, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MARI/we Ems? W, mmzun,

y 1961 w. A. ERNST I 2,982,338

INSTRUMENT-SUPPORTING TRIPOD WITH SEAT Original Filed March 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IIIIIII INVENTOR. W Hen/0e B BY W,W 64-441 A TTOEA/EY! ni e Ew Pew 09 IN'STRIHIMENT-SUI'POR'IING TRIPOD WITH SEAT W. Arthur Ernst, Racine, .Wis., assignor to Howard Industries, Inc., Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin- Original application Mar. 26,1956, Ser. No. 573,815,

now Patent No. 2,896,891, dated-July 28, 1959. Di videdjand this "application Jan. 2, 1959, Ser, No.

This invention relates to an instrunt'ent-supporting tripod with seat. i v

This application is a division of my co-pending appli-. cation. SetialNo. 573,815, filed March 26, 1956, now" Patent No. 2,896,891. y p i r y I The particular purpose for which the tripod is designed is to fsupporfane'lectric' enerator'for military usage and; p

- end a downwardly convex foot for the tripod in the event the ground is soft. V

The invention resides in features of construction which make the device strong and rigid and facilitate manufacture at minimum expense. The head of the tripod requires but the connection of a single piece to provide for the mounting of the instrument and the connection of all the legs. The head maintains its angle to the plane of the forward legs whether the latter are extended or folded, the resulting angle of the head being just suflicient to permit the rear leg and seat and brace to fold into parallelism with the forward leg. The brace for the seat engages the seat securely and is latched against accidental displacement but is readily released against the bias of the retaining spring when it is desired to collapse the tripod. The angleof the cars at the end of the seat olfsets the seat just enough to clear the folded brace.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of the tripod in perspective.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tripod folded.

Fig. 3 is a view of the tripod in side elevation with its generator mounted.

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation across the device as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view on a greatly enlarged scale of the mounting of the generator on the tripod head from a viewpoint similar to that of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view in rear elevation of the part shown in Fig. 5. 1

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the tripod head and generator, the legs being shown in section.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the tripod seat on a greatly enlarged scale from the viewpoint indicated by the line 8-8 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a view taken in section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail view taken in section on line 1010 of Fig. 9.

A tripod head 12 comprises a generally triangular plate notched at its forward portion to provide a forwardly directed tongue 13 which is receivable within thestrap 14 on the under side of the generator 15, as best shown" in Fig. 7.'

Ears 16 and 17 integral with the forward marginsof:

the head 12"extend' downwardly therefrom at oblique angles. Pivot means at 18 and .19 for the forward legs 20 and 21.extend rearwardly through the ears 16 and 17 into the complementaryv ear means 22 which take the form of a flange extending clear across'the head'onthe under side thereof and havingtabs 23, 24 riveted to the head 12'. The shoulder rivets 25 and 26 provide rigid connection between the ears 16 and 17 and the ea'r means 22. v

The ear means- 22 passes across the under side of the head and is part of a fitting which provides ears27and 28 connected bypintle 29 for the support of therear leg 30.; There is also a strap 31 which is an integral part of this fitting and extends rearwardly and is folded back' upon itself at 32 to receive ajpivo'ted' instrument clasp or bucklej 33 pivoted to instrument .15. The endspf this eiaspee'bume 33 are rotatably anchored in strap's 34 35 011 the 'under Sld 0f the il'lStlllmIlt. with l the strap 14 of the instrument engaged with tongue 13 of the tripod head, and the buckle 33 of the instrument pivoted beneath the reversely folded end 32 of strap 31 of the tripod head, the instrumuent is securely positioned on the tripod. I

The legs 20 and 21 may be pivoted upon their pintles 18 and 19 between the divergent position of Fig. 1 and the collapsed position of Fig. 2. In the collapsed position, they are substantially parallel. Their outward swinging movement is limited by the angle iron toggle links 37, 38

which are pivoted to the legs at 39 and 40, respectively,

and are pivoted to each other at 41. When the legs are folded, the links pivot upwardly as shown in Fig. 7.

The rear leg 30 has limited pivotal movement upon its pintle 29 between cars 27 and 28 between the folded position of Fig. 2 and the rearwardly extended position of Fig. 1. Rearward movement of the rear leg is limited by tension linkage, as for example, the chains 42, 43.

All of the legs are desirably provided with pivotally adjustable downwardly convex feet of substantial area 'for supporting the tripod when the ground is soft.

A seat is provided for the operator of the instrument, here illustrated, by way of exemplification, as a generator provided with cranks at 46 and47 requiring manipulation by an operator. The seat 50 is reenforced by ribs and flanges 51, 52 as shown in Fig. 8. At its forward end, it tapers to integral ears 54 and 55 cross connected through the leg 30 by a pintle bolt 56 upon which the seat is movable between the collapsed position of Fig. 2 and the position of use in which it is illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.

Special ribs at 58 receive the thrust of the terminal flange 59 of brace 60 when the latter is raised from the collapsed position of Fig. 2 to the position of use shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The brace terminates at the lower end in ears 63 which are pivoted at 64 on leg 30. Clips 65 are screwed to the under surfaces of ribs 58 to confine flange 59 into position of use as best shown in Figs. 8 and '10. In order to engage the flange 59 with the ribs 58 above clip 65, it is necessary to force the flange into position against the bias of the arms 66 of a leaf spring 67 screwed to the under side of the seat. The spring prevents any accidental release of the connection between the brace and seatand yet accommodates suflicient deflection so that the parts may readily be engaged and disengaged as required. Each clip 65 is provided with a downwardly turned lip as shown in Figs. 3 and 10. The upper surface of the downwardly turned lip functions as a cam against flange 59 when the seat is lifted. As the seat 50 is urged upwardly the downwardly turned lip cams flange Paten d M y 19 6 1.

50 laterally against the bias of arm 66 of leaf spring 67 and thereby aligns the flange 59 with the space between the clip and spring for withdrawal of the flange through the space'as theseat is lifted, thus to disengage flange 59 from the socket formed byfthe spring 67 and clip '65.

The resulting tripod is extremely sturdy' and provides rigid support for the instrument as well as for its operator. Yet it can be collapsed in a moment into the compact package shown in Fig. 2.

Iclaimz v 1. The combination with a tripod support having a leg, of a seat, means pivotally connecting said seat at one end to said leg, a brace having an end pivotally connected to said leg and afree end portion engageable with said seat tol support said seat at, a portion thereof remote from said pivot, said "seat having'socket forming'means to receive the said free end portion of said brace and including clip means inspaced relation to the undersurface of said seat and spring means spaced from said clip means but resiliently" biased toward said clip means, the free end of said brace having a terminal flange receivable between the undersurface of the seat and theclip means and releasably held therebetween under the resilient bias of said spring means, the space between the clip means and spring 1 means being narrower than the said terminal flange whereby to require the spring means to yield to admit the flange 2. The device of claim 1 in which the clip means is provided at its end nearest the spring means with a downturned lip, the upper surface of which constitutes a cam surface for camming the free end of the brace against said spring meanswhen the seat is lifted, thereby releasing said free end from said socket means.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said socket forming means is adjacent one side margin of the seat, a second similar socket forming means adjacent the opposite side margin of the seat, thefree end of thebrace being provided with terminal flanges adjacent both said socket forming means, thereby to increase the stability of said seat by supporting said seat at spaced points remote from said pivot. 9 3

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS FM- i 

